The cavalry isn’t coming folks. What you see is what you get, unless Canucks management is moved to soon change the mix.
Vancouver Canucks vs. Los Angeles Kings
When/where: Thursday, 7 p.m., Rogers Arena
TV: SN Pacific. Radio: Sportsnet 650
The buzz: You don’t want to be good enough to compete, but not good enough to win.
The Canucks have often skated that fine line between consistency and combustibility during this trying season. They’re currently sitting below the NHL playoff bar, and like they say, objects in the rear-view mirror are closer than they appear.
It’s not all bad.
Two overtime losses during a difficult and revealing 1-2-2 record on a five-game road trip proved the Canucks can compete with the elite — especially against the league-leading Washington Capitals — and they measured up in a tough 2-1 setback.
However, after a impressive 3-0 victory in Toronto, the Canucks imploded Tuesday in Winnipeg in a disastrous 6-1 pummelling. Which brings us to this sobering thought: The cavalry isn’t coming folks. What you see is what you get, unless management is moved to soon change the mix.
The Canucks have long thought that once healthy, reverting to that dominant club which piled up 50 wins and 109 points last season to top the Pacific Division would be more plausible than problematic.
The Canucks are 31st in shots per game (25.2), 22nd in goals per outing (2.88) and have slipped to 13th on the power play (21.2 per cent). They are easier to defend because the level of hesitation, lack of shot selection and finish in the offensive zone is alarming.
“It’s hard to be consistent and do the right things all the time, and go through people, hard to re-load and get pucks out and take them to the net,” Tocchet said following the Winnipeg whipping.
“You can’t do it once in a while if you want to be a good team. It’s my job. I’ve got to get some guys committed and it’s on me.”
To make matters worse, the Kings didn’t get the message about being a division back-marker. They are 24-12-5.
Consistency and versatility make the Kings a tough out. They’ve won five of their last seven games by piling up goals or prevailing in low-event, one-goal games against the tough opponents.
They lead in stinginess by allowing 2.41 goals per game and have a dynamic top line of Anze Kopitar between Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala that has combined for 46 goals and 101 points. Kempe has 20 goals.
The history: Second meeting of season. The Canucks prevailed 4-2 in L.A. on Nov. 7 as Jake DeBrusk scored and had five shots and seven attempts. Last season, the Canucks went 1-3-0 and were outscored 15-8. They lost 5-1 at home on Feb. 29, won 2-1 in overtime on March 5 in L.A., were edged 3-2 at home on March 25, and were doubled up 6-3 on April 6 on the road.
The fear: The pressure to perform has never been more evident than on home ice. A 7-8-6 mark is not going to cut it in hopes of securing a playoff position. The Kings are comfortable in one-goal games and are 9-3-5 on those nights. They’re also 15-0-2 when leading after two periods.
The top guns: Norris Trophy contending efforts from Hughes, who’s attracting Hart Trophy attention, are the norm. Had three points Saturday (1-2) for 16th multi-point game of season. Is second among defenders in even-strength points (29) and even-strength goals (eight), third in power-play points (18) and overall production with 47 points (9-38).
The projected lineup:
DeBrusk-Pettersson-Boeser
Hoglander-Miller-Garland
Heinen-Suter-Sherwood
Di Giuseppe-Blueger-Lekerimaki
Hughes-Hronek
Forbort-Myers
Soucy-Juuslen
The prediction: The Canucks respond after being walloped in Winnipeg and are more consistent in defensive-zone coverage and more pressing in offensive zone. They eke out 3-2 win.